Interpretation of CAD models through neutral geometric knowledge

Abstract

A generalized approach to fast interpretation of objects and their features has so far eluded researchers. In manufacturing, this interpretation can be approached from the vision point of view or from the CAD data perspective. Presently, CAD systems are widely used in several aspects of manufacturing production. It is therefore more efficient to use CAD data for object reasoning in manufacturing, especially when systems will eventually be data driven. Components can be modelled on a CAD system using various modelling techniques and the representation of their geometric information is still CAD system dependent. However, the advent of the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) now makes it possible to represent CAD data in a neutral and standard manner. This paper describes a scheme for recognizing and representing features for CAD data extracted using the IGES interface. The concepts developed are based on graph-based feature representation, where features are represented by a set of faces as well as their topological adjacency. Strategies for classifying features and methods of decomposing a complicated feature into several simpler features for recognition purposes are discussed.